


Shadows In The Dark

by Random_Nerd3



Series: JatP Whumptober 2020 [19]
Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Based Off The RP Blogs On Tumblr, Bisexual Nick (Julie and The Phantoms), Bisexual Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Day 23, Don't @ Me, Exhaustion, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I hurt the characters i love, M/M, Multi, Nick Needs Hugs, Nick Needs Sleep, Nick and Reggie are in an established relationship, Nickalind, Polysexual Julie Molina, Post-Caleb Possession, Post-Season/Series 01, Whump, Whumptober 2020, and are adorable
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-23
Updated: 2020-10-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:46:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,607
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27168823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Random_Nerd3/pseuds/Random_Nerd3
Summary: In the aftermath of being possessed by Caleb Nick starts to feel some of the after effects. Luckily he's got an amazing boyfriend who'll always make sure Nick's taking care of himself.orSleep Deprived Nick guest starring his Soft!BoyfriendTM Reggie because I ship these too so hard y'all don't even know.
Relationships: Julie Molina/Flynn (Julie and the Phantoms)/Carrie (Julie and The Phantoms), Nick/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Nick/Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Series: JatP Whumptober 2020 [19]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1949821
Comments: 5
Kudos: 81





	Shadows In The Dark

**Author's Note:**

> Hi!
> 
> Welcome to today's Whumptober piece! Can you believe it's almost over?! My first Whumptober come and gone, oh the memories we've made!
> 
> Enjoy,
> 
> ~R

**Whumptober Day 23. What’s a Whumpee Gotta Do To Get Some Sleep Around Here?**

**| Exhaustion |** Narcolepsy **| Sleep Deprivation |**

The thing was, Nick knew he could trust Julie. He knew he could trust her band, the boys. He knew he could trust… after Caleb used him as a meat suit though Nick just… _couldn’t_. A wave of exhaustion washed over him as he slammed his locker shut after the last bell rang. “Dude, you alright?” Dave, his second in command, asked him. Nick nodded, blinking furiously in an attempt to stay awake.

“I’m fine,” Nick said, snapping at him. Dave’s face dropped and Nick shoved past him, he’d apologize for his attitude later. He hadn’t been sleeping well lately. Memories of what Caleb did flashing through his mind sort of got in the way of having a healthy eight-hours-of-the-night sleep schedule. He breathed heavily, the world suddenly blacking out for a second.

“Nick?” Julie asked, her eyes focusing into view. She was close enough for him to make out the sparkle in her eyes. Nick’s back was leaning against the wall, and he was sitting on the ground. “What’s going on?” She asked, and Nick hated that she was looking at him with pity. Nick leaned his head back, letting his feet slide out in front of him.

“I’ve just… been having problems sleeping,” Nick admitted, refusing to look at Julie. “Caleb uh… I’ve got these memories -” a choking sound escaped from the back of his throat. Tears welled up in his eyes, _why did it have to be me?_ Nick wondered for the millionth time, hoping Caleb was burning in Hell like he deserved. Julie reached up to touch his face, but Nick ducked out of the way. He was disgusting, vile… he was weak enough to let an evil ghost possess him. How Julie was able to even just _look_ at him right now he’d never understand.

“Nick…” Julie said softly, trailing off as a tear rolled down his cheek. “You aren’t weak, and you aren’t disgusting.” She reached up again, this time cupping her hand against his cheek. “Do you want me to call your parents? See if they can drive you home?” Nick shook his head rapidly, anything was better than calling his parents away from work early just because he wasn’t taking care of himself. “Okay, how about you come home with me then, back to the studio?” Julie asked, never dropping eye contact with him. Nick nodded shakily, the studio was safe, the studio was _home_ , Nick could handle the studio.

“Okay,” Nick said quietly. He let Julie help him stand back up. His legs wobbled, but he managed to stand on his own. Nick followed Julie out of the school and towards her car. Mr. Molina looked slightly confused when he saw Nick was with her, but Julie whispered something in his ear and he nodded, welcoming Nick into the car. Reggie was there waiting for them, talking listlessly about Star Wars or something or other.

“You don’t look too good,” Reggie noted when he had to reach over his shoulder and buckle Nick up himself. Nick was on the seat to Reggie’s right, while Julie was to the left. Nick hummed in response, resting his head against the cold glass of the car window. He watched the street race below them, eyelids growing heavier by the second. He refused to let himself fall asleep though, not when he saw his friends suffer whenever he closed his eyes.

One second Nick was still in the car, and the next he was in the studio, which was _dark_. It was too dark, and Nick’s brain started to get confused because Caleb was dark. Caleb was cold and unforgiving and evil and laughed at Nick’s suffering. “Not again,” Nick muttered as he started to wring his hands and pace around the room. “Not again, please not again,” the lights flickered on and Nick tripped over an amp chord, falling onto his knees.

“Sorry!” Julie said, rushing to Nick’s side. “I should’ve figured poofing you out of the car was a bad idea… but you were almost asleep and we didn’t want to disturb you.” Nick let out a light chuckle, the sound resonating from deep in his chest. Reggie’s worried face dropped into view and the bassist placed a light kiss on his forehead.

“I missed you,” Nick admitted when Reggie pulled him in for a hug. He buried his face into the bassist’s flannel, inhaling the now familiar scent. Reggie hummed and ran a hand through Nick’s hair, who relaxed immediately at the motion. “‘M sorry,” Nick whispered into Reggie’s chest. Reggie let out a soft chuckle then tipped Nick’s chin up so they could look at each other.

“You’re here now,” Reggie said, pressing another soft kiss to the top of Nick’s head. Nick blinked, trying to stay awake. Julie helped Reggie stand Nick back up, and dragged him over to Luke’s couch.

“Hmm…” Nick mumbled, flopping onto the couch. Reggie nudged at him and Nick sat up enough for him to slide underneath his head. When Nick settled back into a lying position Reggie continued to twist his hair around in his hands. After a few seconds, Nick realized Reggie was braiding it.

“You need to sleep, it’s vital growing teenagers get eight hours a night,” Reggie said. He tied off the braid with a ponytail he probably stole from Julie’s room. Nick turned his head so he could see the smile Reggie was giving him.

“I’ll let you two duke this out,” Julie whispered, before leaving them alone in the studio. Reggie started to hum, something country. Nick liked it when Reggie sang country, he wished the bassist would do it more often during gigs. He made country sound really good. Reggie started to trace patterns on Nick’s forehead with his fingers. He wanted to sleep, he really did but Nick was just so afraid of seeing a new Caleb Memory he’d rather stay exhausted.

“Can’t sleep?” Reggie asked after they settled into a comfortable silence. Nick hummed, toying with the cuff of Reggie’s flannel. The fabric was soft, familiar, the pattern repetitive and something he could focus on other than the worry and fear running through his mind. “I love you you know,” Reggie said softly, booping the end of Nick’s nose. Nick let a small smile tug at the corners of his lips.

“I know,” Nick said softly, turning his head into Reggie’s chest.

“Wanna tell me what’s been bugging you?” Reggie asked, resting his free hand on to Nick’s back. Nick didn’t want to talk about it, because talking about it made it _real_ … but it was real, because Caleb had actually possessed him, and now he’s paying the price for it.

“I remember things when I sleep,” Nick admitted, crafting his sentence carefully. He inhaled, breathing in the scent of Reggie’s two-dollar cologne from the nineties. The boys really should probably start finding a way for them to wash their clothes. The studio was starting to smell like the boy’s locker room.

“Nick,” Reggie said supportively, tracing his fingers up and down Nick’s arm.

“Things Caleb said - did - and I have to watch him hurt the people I care about. I don’t want to do it anymore Reg,” Nick said and Reggie’s hand stopped moving, tightening around his bicep. “Everytime I close my eyes he’s there, he’s hurting you or Julie or Luke and I -” Nick sobbed, tears staining Reggie’s shirt. Reggie tugged, wrapping his arms around Nick, pulling him close. Nick curled into the couch, into Reggie’s lap.

“I’m so sorry,” Reggie said, guilt ridden across his face. Nick shook his head,

“Not your fault,” Nick said, reaching an arm up to enclose it around Reggie’s hand. Reggie started up his forehead-patterns again, drawing shapes and music notes as Nick felt his eyelids grow heavier. “You’re here now,” he hummed, tracing his fingers over Reggie’s free hand.

“Hell yeah I am,” Reggie promised, smiling at Nick like he hung the stars. “I’ll protect you, if you want to sleep. We’ll keep the lights on and I’ll growl at any nightmares that come your way.” Nick let out a light chuckle.

“You’ll growl at them?” Nick asked, knowing Reggie would definitely growl at the demons that plagued his mind if he could. Reggie nodded,

“I’m the protector in this relationship _Nickypooh_ ,” the bassist said using Carrie’s old nickname. Nick couldn’t help but cringe at it. His and Carrie’s relationship was short lived. She was sort of like the best friend he knew for his entire life, so they dated because they felt like they owed it to themselves… turns out they work better as friends, because now Carrie’s in a three-way with Julie and Flynn and the both of them couldn’t be happier. “Sleep,” Reggie urged, leaning down to press a soft kiss on Nick’s nose.

“‘M scared,” Nick complained, turning his head back into Reggie’s lap. Reggie let out a light chuckle then ran a hand through the top of Nick’s head.

“I’ll keep you safe,” Reggie said with such conviction Nick didn’t have it in himself to complain. “We’ll keep the lights on and you can finally get some sleep. How does that sound?” Reggie asked, voice quiet as the melody of _Home Is Where My Horse Is_ once again filled Nick’s ears, filling his chest with warmth and love. Nick didn’t respond, he knew he didn’t need to. Instead he let his eyelids blink closed, and for the first time in days he finally had a peaceful rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Yell at me on Tumblr: @Random-Nerd-3


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